Cody Brocious, a 19 year old software developer who specializes in compiler and inter-OS compatibility projects has released a preview of a set of DirectX 10 compatibility libraries for Windows XP. While the project is still in its infancy, it is sure to raise a number of questions as to whether Microsoft could have provided DirectX 10 support for older operating systems should the project turn out to be successful.

As Cody notes —”I'm proud to release a preview of our DirectX 10 compatibility libraries. These libraries allow the use of DirectX 10 games on platforms other than Microsoft Vista, and increase hardware compatibility even on Vista, by compiling Geometry Shaders down to native machine code for execution where hardware isn't capable of running it. No longer will you have to upgrade your OS and video card(s) to play the latest games.”

The current preview allows you to run a number of examples from the DirectX SDK on Windows XP. They're not the greatest thing since sliced bread, but we want to whet your appetite. We hope to release builds in the coming months progressing from demos to fully functional games. We also plan to post on this blog from time to time with screenshots and videos of what's to come.

Download: DirectX 10 Compatibility Libraries Preview Build

Alky Project Blog

Microsoft, Windows XP, Windows Vista, DirectX 10, Software, Developers